“It's tragic that the court chose a twisted and tired interpretation
of the First Amendment over the common sense idea that the families of
fallen American troops should be allowed to honor these heroes as they
choose,” he said.

The legal battle over the cross began in 1989 when Vietnam veteran
Philip Paulson, an atheist, sued the city of San Diego.

He argued that
the cross excludes veterans who aren’t Christian. A Jewish veterans’
group has also been a plaintiff in the case, as has the American Civil
Liberties Union.

Both state and federal courts have ordered the cross removed.

In
2005, San Diego residents overwhelmingly approved a measure to preserve
the cross by donating the land on which it sits to the federal
government.

While the land transfer eventually took place, the courts have ruled
that this did not protect the cross from the constitutional dispute.

David Blair-Loy of the ACLU in San Diego County defended the decision.

“We honor those who have served, but the Constitution does not allow
the government to exclude non-Christians by endorsing a clearly
religious symbol,” he said, according to the Associated Press.

Jimmie L. Foster, national commander of the American Legion, called
on Attorney General Eric Holder to appeal the “regrettable decision” to
the Supreme Court.

“The sanctity of this cross is about the right to honor our nation's
veterans in a manner which the overwhelming majority supports,” he
commented in a Jan. 5 statement. “The American Legion strongly believes
the public has a right to protect its memorials.”

Rev. John Fredericksen, a 56-year-old Christian pastor from Orlando,
Fla., was a Jan 3. visitor to the Mount Soledad cross who was critical
of the court ruling.

“For those who are offended, they can move or look somewhere else,”
he told the AP.

“Christians are not asking every mosque or synagogue to
be torn down. Why tear down a symbol of Christianity? Let them find or
make their own memorial.”

The court ruling rejected the notion that the cross was intended
solely as a war memorial.

It said that for most of its history the cross
served as a site for annual Easter services.

A plaque designating it as
a war memorial was not added until the legal controversy began in the
late 1980s.

The cross was dedicated not only to fallen soldiers, but also to
Jesus Christ with the hope that it would be “a symbol in this pleasant
land of Thy great love and sacrifice for all mankind.”

The ruling also
described cross supporters’ “starkly religious message” and the
religious characterizations of their campaign.

The court said that La Jolla has “a history of anti-Semitism that
reinforces the Memorial’s sectarian effect.”

It cited local housing
discrimination against Jews until the late 1950s and testimony that
local residents of the time believed without thinking that being
religious meant being Christian.

Foster said the American Legion intends to file an amicus brief with the Supreme Court in support of an appeal.

“Frankly, after having read the decision, I would say that it will
take either the wisdom of King Solomon or the Supreme Court to resolve
the issue,” he said.